Her Heart's A Battleground
by Minstrel of Ages
Summary: Mysterious, black creatures appear at Megaville Elementary School, causing trouble for the Powerpuff Girls! And, to make it all worse, they can't beat them! And what's up with this strange weapon that Dexter now wields? Powerpuff Girls Doujinshi x KH
1. One

**(Author's Notes: BWAHAHA! Guess who's NOT working on her KH story? –laughs- Dude, I just read PPGD, and I was inspired to write this. I'm a huge KH fan, and now I'm a huge PPGD fan, so, it all works out. Hopefully. I do not own PPGD and KH. If I did, I'd be famous around the world and on the Internet. The first chapter is focused more on Dexter than Blossom, but I will make sure that Blossom and the other PPG's are focused upon in the following chapters. I hope my fic isn't too sappy!)**

**1: The Mysterious Nightmare! The Creatures of Lost Heart Emerge**

Slowly opening his blue eyes, he noticed he wasn't asleep for much longer. Taking a glimpse of his surroundings, he saw that he was on a balcony. A balcony of an elegant, yet almost destroyed castle. Placing his hand to his forehead, a throbbing pain shot through his mind. Getting to his feet, his legs began to shake violently. There was more pain in these rather than his head. Struggling to get support, his hand found a nearby handrail.

"Where am I?' the single question escaped his mouth, echoing throughout the area. Looking through his glasses, he saw a nearby door that seemed to be emitting a mysterious light. The light gave off a healing affect, attracting him toward it. He finally felt balance in his body, leading him to the door. He lifted out his hand, trying to get to the door faster. Pushing the door open, he limped inside.

The corridor was almost destroyed, with wallpaper torn apart and the bare, stone floor was exposed underneath burnt carpet. "This place…" he muttered, turning to look at the dusty and almost gone hallway. 'Why is it like this?' he thought to himself, his eyes wide with fear. Suddenly, a glow of light caught his attention, turning his glance over to face a figure.

The figure was familiar to him, very familiar. It was a girl, possibly a year younger than him, or perhaps even the same age. Her flowing, orange hair was blowing out of control from the nearby broken window. A red ribbon was tied in the back of her hair, also blowing out of control. Although, the ribbon was longer than he ever thought it was. It seemed like it was wrapping around this figure, a shield made out of ribbons. What worried him the most was that this girl was crying, and holding her hands together as if in a prayer. Her attire was also suspicious, not being one that he recognized. It was a pink gown that trailed all the way down to the floor, probably from Victorian times.

He stared at her in awe, but inside, he could feel pain for this girl. He knew this girl; yet, she didn't seem to acknowledge his existence in the hallway. Maybe if he spoke up…

"Blossom?" he muttered, his voice sounding quiet. Suddenly, as if it was timed, the girl's eyes shot open as she stared down at the floor in fear. The boy's eyes widened, as he then saw a pool of darkness open beneath the mysterious girl, as it began to suck her in.

"Blossom!" he yelled, running over toward her to try and save her. He was able to leap forward and grab onto her hand. The girl looked over at him, still emitting tears from her pink eyes. He smiled, knowing that he had almost saved her. Now, he just had to pull her out. Suddenly, the force of the darkness pulled the girl in, dragging him in with her. He let out a scream, which was silenced by the darkness as he fell in.

**OMGWTFBBQ! BREAK!**

Awakened by the alarm clock, Dexter let out a loud groan. It was only a dream. Not a dream he wanted, but a dream. Rubbing his eyes, he placed his other hand on the nearby bedside table that was next to him and grabbed his glasses. Putting them on his face, he then got out of bed and got dressed.

After breakfast, Dexter headed out the door and toward school. He was within a walking distance, and he figured that he wouldn't get much exercise anywhere else, so, he just wanted to let the morning wind wake him up. Flashes of last night's dream kept repeating in his brain, yet he still kept his usual look on his face. Getting to the school, he found himself way earlier than usual. No one was in the classroom, except himself. He decided to read until everyone else got there, because no one would be there for another 15 minutes or so. Or, so he thought.

In a flash of light, Otto appeared, grinning. In front of him was a notebook and a bunch of written history notes. He turned to notice Dexter sitting at the nearby desk.

"Oh, good morning, Dexter." Otto said, scratching the back of his head as he put the notebook down on his own desk.

"Do you time travel every morning before history class?" Dexter asked, sweatdropping.

"Well, it's a good way to get some notes. Especially when I know what we're talking about today." Otto said, grinning with delight. Dexter sighed, and opened up his book to read.

"Is anything wrong?" Otto asked curiously. "You never get here this early, even if you are an early-bird." Otto commented.

"I just got up earlier, that's all." Dexter said. He was now going to ignore Otto, due to the fact he wasn't in a talking mood. Or, perhaps he just got into the book he was reading. One of his favorite comic series. Otto sighed, rolling his eyes at Dexter. The sound of footsteps came into the room.

"Hey, Bubbles!" Otto greeted.

"Good Morning, Otto!" Bubbles greeted back, smiling like usual. "Why are you always so early?" she asked curiously, sounding so innocent. "I mean, we all love sleep. I love to dream, after all. I love to dream about squrrielies, and kitty cats, and of course about Courage too!" Bubbles squealed as she thought of her friend, Courage. Otto smiled, trying to hold back a laugh.

"Where's Blossom and Buttercup?" Otto asked. The sound of Blossom's name made Dexter's ear prick up, so he could pay attention.

"Buttercup's being attacked by those fangirls of hers, um, Tootie and Suzy…" Bubbles said, placing a finger on her chin and looking up at the ceiling, clearly noting that she was thinking. "And Blossom, she's, um, well, she should be on her way here. I think she might be in the library. She'll be here soon, though!" Bubbles said, still keeping her smile as she let her hand drop back to her waist.

"GET THE HECK AWAY FROM ME!" Buttercup's annoyed voice was heard through the wall, as the door slammed open to reveal Buttercup being mobbed by two girls. "Ugh, don't you have boys to go glomp, or something?" Buttercup asked, sweatdropping.

"We WOULD go glomp Sensei Jack, but he's busy right now. We'd hate to get in his way!" Suzy said, her eyes glowing with passion for the samurai teacher. Buttercup groaned, glaring at the two boys in the room.

"What are you two looking at?" Buttercup muttered, sounding angry. Otto sweatdropped as Dexter turned back to his book.

"Hey, it's almost class time, where's your sister?" Tootie asked, noticing the blue and green, but not the pink.

"She should be back soon…" Bubbles whispered, turning to the open doorway.

"Should we be worried?" Suzy asked, letting go of Buttercup.

"No. Blossom can get here quickly, she's a super heroine after all." Otto said with determination. Dexter turned his head to look out the window. There she was, rushing across the field to get all the way over to the school building. Dexter smiled, seeing Blossom, but she seemed to be in a huge hurry. Possibly because there were only six minutes until class.

About 30 seconds after seeing her outside, Blossom was immediately in the doorway, panting. "Goal!" Blossom yelled, falling over.

"Blossom! Are you alright?" Bubbles asked, kneeling over her fallen body.

"Yeah. Just a little exhausted." Blossom said, smiling as she tried to get up. Dexter got out of his seat to see if Blossom was alright as well, being a little worried that she'd be that determined to get to class on time.

"There's a water fountain outside, we still have some time before class starts if you want to get some water." Dexter told Blossom. Blossom sweatdropped as she immediately got her feet.

"I'm fine! Really!" she said, scratching the back of her head nervously.

"Alright, class. Please sit down in your seats. It's time for class." The voice of the teacher Ms. Meryl came into the room, as the students began to take their seats.

"Now, let's begin—" the teacher was cut off by two last students walking into the class.

"Mandy, you're late." Ms. Meryl said, noticing the grim girl along with her goofy friend, Billy. "And you too, Billy.

"I apologize." Mandy said, no emotion in her voice as usual. Billy kept that stupid look on his face, not saying a word. His tongue kept lying out of his mouth as he followed Mandy to the back of the classroom where they took their seats.

"Now, let's begin the history lesson…" Ms. Meryl began to go into discussion about various things in the lesson book. Otto would hold back the urge to protest against things he knew that weren't true, since he actually saw these events. Dexter kept staring out the window, flashes of last night's dream replaying in his mind.

'Why was she crying? Why was that hallway so destroyed? Where was I?' Dexter never thought that he'd ask so many questions. 'And what was that pool of darkness? Was it some kind of liquid? I've never seen a black liquid, besides oil, but that's beside the point…'

"Dexter." Ms. Meryl's voice sounded stern and impatient.

"Yes?" Dexter said, his eyes widening.

"Pay attention and answer the question." Ms. Meryl said, as she turned back to the chalkboard to continue writing.

"Dude, what's wrong? It's not like you to daze out." Otto whispered to Dexter. Dexter didn't reply. It would be stupid to come up with a fake excuse. A poke on his shoulder forced him to turn around.

"Are you sure? Otto's right, you know." Blossom's concerned voice asked; a look of deep concern on her face was shown. Dexter couldn't lie to Blossom, but he had to. This dream that he had, it was scaring the crap out of him.

"Yeah. I'm fine." Dexter said, weakly smiling as he nodded and adjusted his glasses.

The rest of the class was the same as usual. Although, Dexter was still suspiciously quiet.

**OMGWTFBBQ! ANOTHER BREAK!**

The second period of the day flew by, leading up the mid-day period, which was P.E. Sensei Jack was preparing the class, leaving some open time to talk with each other.

"He's sooooo hot!" Suzy squealed, her cheeks turning red as she smiled with delight.

"Timmy's so much better…" Tootie muttered, her cheeks turning a slight pink.

"What did you say?" Suzy asked curiously to Tootie.

"Ah! Nothing!" Tootie lied, sweatdropping.

"Please don't have another outburst out of embarrassment again, Buttercup…" Blossom muttered, patting her sister's shoulder.

"Why would I do that?" Buttercup asked, a vein mark appearing on her head.

"BECAUSE OF SENSEI JAAACK!" Bubbles practically screamed, causing Buttercup's face to turn beet red.

"Bubbles!" Buttercup yelled. This caused the class to look over at Buttercup and Bubbles.

"UGH. YOU'RE GOING TO GET IT, BUBBLES!" Buttercup said, trying to avert their thoughts away from what Bubbles had said before.

"That's enough." The voice of Sensei Jack was heard, allowing the students to look over at their teacher.

"Tag isn't on the agenda, so, let's get started with our class." Jack said, looking down at the students. Courage was trailing right behind Jack, whimpering.

"Courage!" Bubbles squealed, kneeling down to pet Courage. Courage wagged his tail in delight, not so scared of Bubbles as much. She used to scare him with her random outbursts, but he got so used to it.

"Courage, I know you want to come with me, but you'll distract the students." Jack said, looking at Courage with a sorry look.

"Oh, it'll be no problem, Sensei Jack. I can look after him for the class." Bubbles said, smiling. Jack thought for a moment, and then smiled.

"Alright, for this one class, you can look after him." Jack said, smiling. Bubbles cheered and picked the dog up, hugging him to her chest. She walked off to the side of the class, to watch with Courage.

"So, what are we doing today?" asked a student from the front of the class.

"We're going to start with a game of tag to warm up, then I'll have to let you all take that Physical Education test that happens every so often." Jack said, sounding like the last part of his explanation didn't matter as much as the warm-up.

"Let's get this over-with." Mandy said, stretching her arms out. She didn't exactly like to run. Well, she didn't like a lot of things.

"Noses! To see who's it!" Suzy called out, putting her finger on her nose. Being dazed out, Dexter didn't hear her, and didn't do what everyone was doing.

"Uh-oh! Looks like Dexter's it!" Suzy taunted.

"Huh?" Dexter asked, his eyes focusing in to see that everyone had picked him as 'it'.

"What? That's not fair!" Dexter complained.

"You didn't put your finger on your nose, Poindexter. No complaining." Buttercup said, smirking. Dexter groaned and closed his eyes while everyone else ran off. Opening his eyes again, he looked around for someone to tag, so he could get out of this quickly. He ran toward the school building, looking around. He tried not to exhaust himself so quickly, since he didn't have a lot of physical strength to run fast. Seeing someone around the corner, he broke into a run.

"I've got you now!" he muttered to himself as he turned the corner to see a weird creature, snooping around. Dexter's eyes grew wide as he saw that this wasn't a person.

"What is this thing?" Dexter asked himself, stepping back a little ways. The creature turned to face the boy, as several spots of darkness appeared on the ground, generating more creatures.

"They're multiplying! It's not an asexual reproduction…" Dexter muttered, wondering how there were more of them. Dexter knew he didn't have the upper advantage with these things. He never took his backpack (battle suit) to P.E., because it was a class that never seemed to require it. He groaned, slapping himself mentally. The creatures began to inch closer to him, making him step back into a wall.

"Crap!" Dexter said, noticing the wall he just backed up into. "This isn't good! Oh, for love of Einstein, why didn't I bring my freaking battle suit?" he asked himself in his annoyed state.

Just as the creatures were about to lunge at him, a pink light came out of the sky and flew in front of Dexter. A figure emerged from that light, revealing it to be Blossom. She thrust out her arms and let out a large breath, breathing out ice at the strange creatures. They froze, leaving Blossom to not worry as much. She turned to face Dexter.

"Are you alright? What are those things?" Blossom asked.

"I'm fine, and I'm not sure." Dexter said, glad that Blossom came in the nick of time. "They seem to be some sort of creature that reproduces from darkness."

"Darkness? Just pure darkness? That's impossible." Blossom said, not sure how to believe him.

"It is impossible." Dexter said, agreeing with Blossom. 'But, I saw it…' he thought, still a bit frightened by whatever he saw. He then noticed the creatures in the ice beginning to escape.

"Blossom! Look out!" as a creature was able to escape from the ice, it lunged at Blossom. In time, Dexter was able to push her out of the way and take the blow. Dexter cringed in pain, but was able to kick the creature off of him before it did anything.

"Thank you." Blossom thanked Dexter as she got up. "Now, let's take these things down!" Blossom said with determination. Dexter smiled and nodded, although he had nothing to fight with.

"Miss us?" a voice from above said, belonging to Buttercup. Bubbles and Buttercup flew into the fray. Buttercup watched as the creatures escaped from the ice prison that Blossom had put them in earlier.

"Alrighty, you're all going down!" Buttercup said, smirking as she ran over to one of the creatures and punched it down. The punch did no good, as it then fell and turned into a shadow. As a shadow, it came up behind Buttercup and rose back up. It then struck from behind, knocking her over.

"Buttercup!" Blossom yelled, running over toward the creature that attacked her sister. "Take this!" Blossom yelled, using heat vision to try and heat up the creature, but it had no affect.

"How can this be?" Dexter asked himself, watching, as the Powerpuff's attacks did nothing.

"Hee-yah!" Bubbles yelled as she tried to strike one of the creatures, but it did no good as well. The creature attacked Bubbles back, striking her down.

"Bubbles!" Blossom yelled, trying to protect both of her sisters at the same time. Finally, the creatures surrounded poor Blossom.

"Why aren't my attacks working?" Blossom whined, her eyes were wide with fear. One of the creatures then lunged straight at Blossom, landing on her body, its jaws heading straight at where her heart was.

"NO!" Dexter yelled, thrusting out his arms. 'I have to save Blossom, but how…HOW?'

_So, your desire to save this girl is that strong, hm?_

A flash of light came out of nowhere, making all of the creatures avert their gaze to Dexter, as the light dimmed slightly it took the shape of a sphere as it came into Dexter's right hand. It then took the shape of a sword, which looked like a giant key. Dexter's eyes were wide with awe. The creatures stopped attacking to stare at what had just happened.

_Keyblade…_

_Keyblade…_

END OF CHAPTER 1


	2. Two

**(Author's Notes: Awesome. Chapter numbero dos! Not a lot of battles, sorry. I'm planning on some more action in the next chapter, though. I don't own PPGD or KH. PPGD is owned by Bleedman, and KH is owned by Square Enix. Whooteth. Oh, we're going to get some KH/Disney cameos later on, so, be prepared! Hooray!)**

**2: Mysteries of the Keyblade! The Darkness Wakes Up**

Staring at the mysterious blade in his hand, Dexter's eyes were fixed wide open.

"What…?" was the only word that could come out of his mouth. The creatures began to move over toward Dexter, looking interested in whatever he was holding in his hand.

_Don't be confused. Just use the light to vanquish dark._

Dexter held up his blade in defense against the approaching creatures. As one lunged at him, he swung his newfound weapon with a strong force. As it struck the creature, it disappeared in a flash of darkness.

"He just killed that thing!" Buttercup yelled. "How could Poindexter do it when we couldn't?" she asked, glaring at Dexter.

"What is that key-shaped sword thingy he has?" Bubbles asked, looking at his weapon curiously. More creatures came at Dexter. Dexter swung at the heartless again. They all disappeared as he hit them.

"Amazing…" Blossom muttered. Destroying the last of the creatures, Dexter let go of his weapon as it disappeared in a flash of light.

"What was that?" Bubbles asked, getting up. Dexter shook his head, indicating that he didn't know.

"What's going on back here?" yelled a voice, belonging to Sensei Jack. Jack came rushing in along with Otto and Mandy. Jack's eyes widened when he saw Buttercup and Blossom on the ground, injured slightly, along with Bubbles, who was still standing. "What happened?"

"There were these weird, black creatures! And they attacked us!" Blossom described. "And, we couldn't beat them!"

"What?" Jack asked. "Your powers couldn't beat them?"

"No! The only reason we're alive is because this key-like weapon came into Poindexter's hand and he killed them all off." Buttercup explained.

"Key-like weapon?" Otto asked, turning to Dexter, who still looked a little shocked and dazed.

"I've heard some stories about things like this. Except, all the kids get eaten." Mandy said, causing Otto to shiver and move away from Mandy.

"And, one of the creatures tried to get at Blossom's heart." Dexter said, remembering what one of the creatures tried to do.

"Well, you've had enough adventures for the day. I'll take you back to the dojo so you can rest before lunch." Jack said, helping Blossom and Buttercup support them as they headed back for the School Dojo.

**OMGWTFBBQ! BREAK!**

"Oooh, I can feel it," muttered a voice in the bleak darkness.

"What can you feel, my lady?" asked another voice, sounding a little deeper than the first.

"The power of the keyblade has awakened…which means that the seven princesses will awaken as well." The woman answered, a grin was clearly visible, even in such a dark room. "With the power of the seven princesses, we can rule this pathetic planet."

"We've already taken two princesses captive, my lady." The second voice said, sounding very pleased with herself.

"Excellent. However, it shall not please me until we've found all seven." The first voice said, her grin disappearing.

"Of course, my lady." The second voice said. The first voice let out a sigh as the darkness began to fade a little bit to reveal a woman, or, a woman-like creature dressed in a black gown. Horns were atop her head, and her abnormal green face was also noticed in the fading darkness. Her name? Only few have heard it and lived to tell the tale. She was the almighty "Queen of Darkness", the so-called "Ruler of the Heartless". Her name was Maleficent. A witch who is almost heartless herself.

"My lady…" muttered the second voice.

"Yes?" Maleficent asked curiously, hearing the voice once again.

"We've found the location of the third princess." The voice told Maleficent, sounding a bit unsure.

"Excellent. Send your strongest Heartless after her. And show no mercy, especially if the Keyblade Master shows up." Maleficent stated. The figure that owned the second voice bowed and left the chamber. Maleficent smiled to herself, waving her green hand over a sphere on her staff.

"I wonder who this little holder of the Keyblade is…the last one wasn't exactly helping to my plans. Of course, those little pure-hearted bastards never are useful." Maleficent muttered.

The darkness surrounded her again, making the "Queen" disappear in a cloud of blackness.

**OMGWTFBBQ! BREAK AGAIN!**

After a warm cup of tea, Blossom felt a lot better. The cold feeling of the creature's claws as it tried to break into her body, trying to bite at her heart. It scared her. At least Dexter was there to save her. This brought another mystery. Why was he so clueless about all this? Being that smart, wouldn't he know a thing or two about this event?

"Dexter, are you—" almost asking if he was alright, Blossom stopped in mid-sentence, feeling a little like prying if she asked. This event scared all four of them, and therefore, maybe she should just stay quiet.

"Did you say something, Blossom?" Dexter asked, hearing Blossom's voice perk up. Blossom's cheeks turned a slight pink and she shook her head.

"It's nothing." Blossom said, shaking her head. She leaned on the wall, staring at the ground.

"This sucks! Let's go get some lunch!" Buttercup yelled out of nowhere, placing down her cup on the table with force.

"We can't. Sensei Jack told us to stay here until he got back." Mandy said, glancing over at the bored Powerpuff.

"Since when are you following orders?" Buttercup spat back at Mandy.

"I've got nothing better to do. And besides, this is a lot better than hearing Billy babble on about his life." Mandy stated.

"Whatever." Buttercup said, sitting back down in defeat.

Blowing her tea, Blossom took another sip. She took glances at Dexter every now and then, staring and noticing how out-of-it he was. A concerned look on her face, she knew she would have to ask him questions sooner or later. Did he really know something about what had happened? Suddenly, Dexter stood up. He walked out of the dojo without a word, leaving the girls and Otto behind in the dojo.

"Now, I'm really worried." Blossom muttered to herself quietly, turning her gaze slightly to her right side.

"I'll go talk to him." Otto said, walking outside. Mandy continued to stare at the ceiling, blankly.

"Hey, Mandy, are you free this weekend?" Bubbles asked.

"Sure. Why?" Mandy asked, her usual emotionless tone of voice still in there.

"I was wondering if I could come over to your house. You've been over to my place so many times! I've never seen your house! I'll bring Courage over and we can have a sleepover or something!" Bubbles said, smiling with delight.

"Whatever." Mandy said, allowing Bubbles to jump up and down. "You hear that, Courage? We're going over to Mandy's this weekend!" Bubbles squealed as she picked up the dog. Courage whimpered with fear.

"Why don't we all go someplace different this weekend? That way, the professor won't plan something crazy with just the three of us." Blossom said.

"Alright. I might go over to that guy's Eddy's house. He said he wanted to talk to me about some kind of 'business' deal." Buttercup said, sweatdropping. Blossom and Bubbles sweatdropped at that as well.

"What about you, Blossom?" Bubbles asked. Blossom thought about it for a little bit. She didn't have a lot of friends, well, except Dexter. And perhaps Otto, but they never hung out too often. If she said she'd go over to Dexter's house, her sisters would never stop making fun of her. And plus, Buttercup would probably go all 'YOU CAN'T GO A GUY'S HOUSE!'. Blossom stayed silent, and no one else asked her any more questions.

"Hey, is Sensei Jack ever coming back?" Bubbles asked, making all of the members of the room sweatdrop.

**OMGWTFBBQ! MEANWHILE, WITH DEXTER AND OTTO…**

Dexter was outside of the dojo, thinking about the mix of the dream he had and the event that they encountered. Were they connected in someway? The dream of Blossom falling into darkness and these mysterious creatures that reproduced from darkness.

'What was that weapon I obtained from that battle? It was powerful enough to destroy those things, when Blossom and the other's powers couldn't even damage them.' Dexter thought to himself. 'It couldn't be that…their powers are weakening?' Dexter jumped to conclusions. 'No. There's no way that's possible. I know they're powerful enough to defeat these things, no matter what happens in the beginning…'

"Dexter?"

"What?" Dexter turned around, glaring at whoever addressed him. He saw Otto, looking grim and serious at the same time.

"Although I'm one who has to protect the future, being curious, I have to know. Why are you acting like this?" Otto asked.

"It's nothing you should be concerned about." Dexter said, narrowing his eyes.

"If you don't speak up, Blossom's going to be worried sick. Same with everyone else." Otto said, glaring at the Boy Genius.

Dexter's heart skipped a beat at Blossom's name. Out of fear or affection, he wasn't sure. Fear, for remembering that dream, and of course, you know the affection side. "They don't have to worry about me. I'm Dexter, Boy Genius! I'm able to handle my own problems."

"You say that." Otto said, still not averting his glare. "You know something about what happened. I know you do."

"No, I really don't." Dexter admitted. Oh, those words pained him to admit. The words 'I don't know' were words he hadn't said in such a long time. He couldn't remember the last time he said them. Even if he wasn't saying that phrase directly, he knew the message in his mind was loud and clear.

"I might." Otto said sheepishly. Dexter's eyes widened as he stared at Otto.

"Tell me everything you know. I need to know. For the sake of everyone." Dexter begged.

"I can't tell you _everything_. That would screw up the timeline somehow. I have to be careful of what I can say and what I can't." Otto said. "I can give you the basics, though. But, you can't tell anyone about this! Not even Blossom!"

"Why do you think I would tell her?" Dexter asked.

"You wanted to protect her, and therefore, you got that mysterious weapon." Otto said. Dexter was speechless for a few short moments, but came with a comeback pretty quickly.

"That's not answering my question." Dexter grumbled.

"It is, in a way. Maybe a man trapped in science so much doesn't realize it, though." Otto said, snickering afterward. "Anyways, that weapon you got, that's called a Keyblade." Otto explained.

"Keyblade?" Dexter repeated.

"Yeah. A key-shaped sword. Funny, huh? Its main purpose is for defeating those creatures you and the Powerpuffs ran into. Those creatures are called Heartless. They're organisms that have lost their hearts." Otto explained.

"Lost their heart? But, if they lost their heart, wouldn't they be dead?" Dexter asked curiously.

"They are…dead. Yet, they're shells of those who have their hearts stolen. The will that lives on. I could tell you more, but, as I've said before, it'd screw up the timeline somehow." Otto said. Dexter groaned. He really needed to find this stuff out.

"So, these Heartless…" Dexter stopped. "Do they want people's hearts?"

"They feed on human hearts. They're attracted to pure hearts, especially. So, if one attacked Blossom, then she must have a heart worth feasting on." Otto explained.

"I see." Dexter said. 'Maybe I can look this stuff up on the computer later. There's bound to be someone on the Internet who knows some information about this.' Dexter thought.

"That's all I can tell you." Otto said.

"Alright. Thanks." Dexter said, nodding. "Say, are the girls still in the dojo?"

"With Buttercup's patience, I doubt it. But, you can still look. I'll come back with you." Otto said, allowing Dexter to lead the way back to the dojo.

Back in the dojo, the group looked up to see the two boys entering the room.

"What were you two talking about?" Bubbles asked.

"Nothing important." Dexter said, staying by the doorway.

"It's lunch time. I'm sure Sensei Jack will understand if we just go grab a bite to eat." Otto said. The girls (except Mandy) jumped to their feet.

"Finally. I'm starving!" Buttercup yelled, as she was the first out of the dojo. Bubbles skipped after Buttercup, humming a sweet little tune as she went. Mandy quietly followed the other two Powerpuffs, leaving Otto, Dexter and Blossom. Otto smiled and followed the others.

"I won't ask, so don't worry." Blossom said, smiling.

'What did that mean?' Dexter asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion at Blossom's statement. Blossom passed Dexter to leave the dojo, and slowly, Dexter followed. He caught up with Blossom as she matched her pace with his. Even without words, Blossom's face was red. She didn't dare look at him, and it was just a vice versa situation with Dexter as well. Bubbles and Otto kept taking tiny glances back to see the pair walking side by side. Bubbles giggled and Otto smirked. Bubbles and Otto were thinking the exact same thing.

'I should totally try to get them together.'

**OMGWTFBBQ! BREAK AGAIN!**

After lunch, everyone headed to their next class. Sitting at the same desk as this morning, Blossom noticed that Dexter was late coming back from lunch. She knew that he was a slow eater, but, never this slow. Seeing him walk in the doorway, she was able to let out a breath of relief.

"Okay, class. It's time for our next science project." Ms. Meryl said, smiling cheerfully. The class groaned (except for Dexter, who actually liked the projects).

"Now, our project is going to be on our Biodiversity subject that we've been studying for the last few months. Now, I'll pair you up with a partner, and you'll both make me a slideshow about an ecosystem you both pick on agreement. I've decided who your partners are, so you don't just pick your best friend to help you out."

"Aw man, I suck at these stupid projects." Buttercup mumbled, glaring at the floor.

"I just don't know anything about a lot of the ecosystems we've been studying…" Bubbles muttered.

"Bubbles and Otto, you'll be working together." Ms. Meryl said. Bubbles shrugged. She could work with Otto. It all depended on what ecosystem he wanted to study.

"Buttercup, you'll be working with Mandy." Ms. Meryl said.

"Great, I have to work with pessimist, devil girl." Buttercup groaned.

"Great, I have to work with anger-management problem, greenie girl." Mandy muttered. 'I suppose it's better than Billy. No, wait, it's worse. This way, she'll have the will to say no to me.' Mandy rolled her eyes as she leaned back in her chair. Ms. Meryl continued to read names off the list, as Bubbles walked over to Otto's desk.

"What ecosystem do you want to study?" Bubbles asked, cocking her head.

"It doesn't matter to me, really." Otto said, smiling. "Do you have a specific one in mind?"

"Uh, maybe, some kind of, jungle?" Bubbles asked.

"Maybe a rainforest." Otto said, helping her along with words. "An Asian rainforest?"

"That sounds good!" Bubbles agreed. She knew a little bit about rainforests, so she'd at least have some ground before jumping into the unknown.

"What ecosystem are we doing?" Buttercup asked, walking over toward Mandy.

"The desert." Mandy said, turning to face Buttercup.

'Okay. She just decided for us. But, I suppose it's not so bad…' Buttercup thought. "Fine." Buttercup said, nodding.

"AHHHH!" screamed a voice from the back of the class. "YOU CAN'T MAKE ME BE IN A GROUP WITH HER!"

"Timmy, please stop yelling and go talk with Tootie about your topic." Ms. Meryl said, sweatdropping.

"Oh, my beloved Timmy…" Tootie muttered, clasping her hands together as this boy named Timmy stared in horror. Everyone in the class sweatdropped. "It won't be so bad!" Tootie said, smiling.

Timmy sobbed over at his desk, not exactly happy that he was paired with the sister of his cruel and unusual babysitter.

"And lastly, Dexter and Blossom are working together. Once you've decided on your ecosystem, please go ahead and start researching." Ms. Meryl said, as she then focused her attention on papers that were on her desk.

"Why did I have that feeling I was going to get paired up with him in the first place? Oh well, I suppose I was right." Blossom said, as she noticed that Dexter wasn't getting up from his seat. She got up from her desk and wandered over toward Dexter.

"Hey. If you're daydreaming again, I'd hate to be the one to break you out of it." Blossom said, poking him on the shoulder. Dexter looked over at Blossom.

"Oh, sorry. Are we partners for the project?" he asked curiously.

"Yeah. What ecosystem do you want to study?" Blossom asked, smiling.

'How can she smile in such a carefree manner, especially after what happened? But, it's good to see her smile anyways.' He thought, returning the smile. "Do you want to do some kind of coral reef? We could go snorkeling out there some time, or something to make research easier." Dexter offered his idea.

"That sounds like so much fun!" Blossom exclaimed. "I've never been snorkeling before!"

"Alright. You can come over to my house this weekend, and I'm sure I can get Coop to give us a ride somewhere." Dexter explained.

"Yay! Although, I could probably just fly us there too." Blossom cheered. 'Wow, I'm starting to sound like Bubbles.' Blossom thought, sweatdropping.

"Class dismissed. Have a good rest of the day." Ms. Meryl said, dismissing the class after a few more minutes. Grabbing their bags, they headed toward the door. The three Powerpuffs started to head back for home immediately.

"Ick. That Mandy is really boring." Buttercup muttered in disgust.

"Mandy's really, uh, funny when you get to know her!" Bubbles protested back, trying to think of a positive word for her friend. "She can be gloomy at times, but she's good inside, I know it!"

"Are you sure about that, Bubbles?" Buttercup asked, sweatdropping. "You're paired with four-eyes, though."

"That's not so bad! Otto's really nice to me. Plus, he seems to know a lot about the rainforests, so he said I could focus more on the animals in the forest rather than the actual forests." Bubbles said, sounding excited that she was actually studying about animals.

"And you're paired up with Poindexter." Buttercup said, turning over to Blossom, her lips curving into a smirk.

"So?" Blossom asked, trying to cover up her pink cheeks from her sisters.

"You probably got the best partner out of all three of us. I mean, he's you _boyfriend_ after all." Buttercup taunted.

"No, he's not!" Blossom argued back, her face heating up a little more. 'Sure, I'm happy that he's my partner and everything. But, why does everyone try to pry into my relationship with him?' Blossom thought as they reached their house. Blossom put her bag down as she fell on the couch. She was tired.

"Those creatures from this morning…" Bubbles stated, staring at the ground.

"What about them?" Buttercup asked.

"They were able to become shadows, right? They can't be from this world. No animal could ever become a shadow…"

Blossom sat up, listening to Bubbles cautiously. "That's right. And that must be why we can't beat them. We have to tell the Professor of what happened this morning." Blossom said, standing up.

"But, wouldn't that make him worry?" Bubbles asked.

"He might be able to tell us something about those creatures." Blossom said, looking over toward the basement door where Professor Utonium's lab was.

"Maybe Bubbles is right, Blossom. Maybe we should keep quiet about this. We've got a genius for a friend anyways. And a boy who can travel back in time. We've got enough freakin' resources to figure this out on our own." Buttercup noted.

"Alright. But, then we've ALL got to keep quiet." Blossom said, her eyes narrowing.

"Why, don't trust us to keep our mouth shut?" Buttercup asked, rolling her eyes toward Bubbles.

"I can stay quiet!" Bubbles said, tightening her fists.

"We know you can, Bubbles. We have faith in you." Blossom said, comforting her sister. Bubbles giggled.

"Are you girls home?" the professor's voice came from below.

"Yeah!" all three girls yelled out.

"Should I start making dinner?" the professor's voice got quieter as he arrived at the top of the stairs to see the three girls. They all nodded.

"What are we having tonight?" Bubbles asked.

"I figured we could order pizza, since I'm a little tired." The professor said, allowing the girls to cheer.

"Yeah!" they all shouted.

"I'll go order it." The professor said, leaving the girls in the room to discuss random things about their lives and the events that had happened that morning.

**OMGWTFBBQ! BREAK AGAIN!**

"Why isn't there any information on the Heartless?" Dexter moaned as he continued to look up those mysterious creatures on the Internet. "And to make matters worse, Otto won't tell me anything else." Dexter muttered, placing his hand on his forehead. The scene from the battle, where he received the Keyblade kept replaying in his mind, along what Otto had told him before.

"_You wanted to protect her, and therefore, you got that mysterious weapon."_

Sure, he wanted to protect her. He did dive to save her life from another one of those Heartless. He never thought he'd actually do something that heroic without his robotic armor.

"Ugh. Why am I thinking about Blossom at a time like this? I need to figure out more about these Heartless!" Dexter yelled at himself.

'But, I'm worried.' Dexter thought. 'If the Powerpuffs can't beat them without my help, and if they attack again, and I'm not there…' Dexter's eyes widened at the thought of a Heartless taking away Blossom's heart.

"No…" he muttered. "How can they fight them if they don't have the power to?" Dexter then had a thought. He looked up at the large computer screen above him and stared at the search box.

"Computer. Look up "Keyblade"." He said, as the computer began to make various noises at him.

"Search complete. One result found." The computer repeated. Dexter looked at the result on the white screen.

"The Legend of the King of the Sky?"

CHAPTER 2 END


End file.
